Sutton Juniors hold off South Central in Hebron wood bat championship battle

The Sutton and South Central Junior Legion baseball teams opened up play in the annual Hebron Wood Bat tournament this past weekend with a pair of wins, Sutton over Maryville, KS and Hebron, while South Central downed both Utica/Beaver Crossing and Wymore/Diller-Odell, to set up their first clash of the 2025 summer season in the title game, played Sunday night, June 22.

The match up would see South Central grab the upper hand early, jumping out to a 5-1 lead after two innings of play, before Sutton posted nine runs in the top of the third frame to take a 10-5 lead, South Central set the game at a 10-7 Sutton lead in the bottom of the third with a pair of runs.

In the closing two innings, Sutton held a 3-2 scoring edge to claim the tournament title with a 13-9 victory, running their season record to 6-11, while South Central fell to 9-3 with the loss.

South Central held a strong 10-5 hitting edge over Sutton, but Sutton drove in a total of eight runs on their five hits, while South Central drove in seven off of their 10 hits.

Remington Behmerwohld held the hot hand, driving in four runs in the game, while going 1-2 at the plate with a double.

Rounding out Sutton’s hitting effort was Michael Lockhart with a double, while driving in two runs. DJ Hajny and Kaleb Ostrander were both 1-2 at the plate with singles for each, while Cale Nuss was 1-3, also with a single.

The hitting for South Central was led by Wyatt Livgren, as he was 3-4 and one run driven in. Wyatt Hemberger was 2-4 with a double and a single, while driving in a team-high two runs.

Adding to the mix was Jedt Livgren with a pair of singles and a run batted in, while Chase Batterman went 1-2 with a single.

Alex Watts and Grayhm Beck rounded out the hitting for South Central, as both were 1-3 at the plate.

Nuss manned the hill for Sutton for four complete innings. He walked three, struck out seven, and allowed eight runs on eight hits. Lockhart tossed for an inning, walking three, striking out one, and allowing one run.

For South Central, three pitchers saw action, with Wyatt Livgren pitching for two and two-thirds of an inning. He walked five, struck out four, and gave up six runs on two hits. Hemberger tossed the ball for an inning and a third, walking two and striking out one without giving up a hit or a run. Jace Hoelting worked the mound for an inning, walking three, striking out one, while giving up seven runs on three hits.

Sutton 13, South Central 9 Sutton.............................................................. 0 1 9 3 0 -13 South Central................................................... 1 4 2 1 1 -9 Sutton Totals AB R H RBI Michael Lockhart.......................................................... 1 2 1 2 Remington Behmerwohld.......................................... 2 2 1 4 DJ Hajny......................................................................... 2 2 1 1 Kaleb Ostrander............................................................ 2 1 1 1 Cale Nuss....................................................................... 3 0 1 0 Creighton Jones............................................................ 2 1 0 0 River Glinsman.............................................................. 2 2 0 0 Brody Borgmann.......................................................... 3 1 0 0 Aydan Banta.................................................................. 4 0 0 0 Sutton Totals-................................................ 21 11 5 8 Extra Base Hits: Behmerwohld: 1-Double; Lockhart: 1-Double. South Central Totals AB R H RBI Wyatt Livgren............................................................... 4 1 3 1 Wyatt Hemberger........................................................ 4 2 2 2 Jedt Livgren................................................................... 4 2 2 1 Chase Batterman.......................................................... 2 0 1 1 Alex Watts..................................................................... 3 1 1 0 Grayhm Beck................................................................. 3 0 1 1 Josh Spray...................................................................... 1 0 0 1 Brockett Reed............................................................... 1 0 0 0 Justin Sharp................................................................... 2 2 0 0 Kolten Menke................................................................ 2 1 0 0 Jace Hoelting................................................................. 2 0 0 0 South Central Totals-..................................... 28 9 10 7 Extra Base Hits: Hemberger: 1-Triple.

Their lead grew to 8-1 in the fourth inning, before Sutton’s offense came to life in the top of the fifth, scoring four runs.

Hastings added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to secure the 9-5 victory.

At the plate, Everett Yost and Ostrander both had two hits, with Yost driving in one run on a pair of singles, while Ostrander hit for a double and a single.

Jones and Cale Nuss added singles to the cause, as Sutton again held the edge at the plate, outhitting Hastings 6-4.

DJ Hanjy managed the hill for three innings for the Mustangs. Hajny walked two, struck out four, and gave up three hits and five runs.

Lochart threw for two innings for Sutton, walking three, striking out three, while allowing four runs on one hit, while Nuss struck out two in an inning of work on the mound.

Sutton 5, Hastings 9 Sutton...................0 0 0 1 4 0 0 -5 Hastings................4 1 0 3 0 1 x -9 Game 2- AB R H RBI Everett Yost............................. 3 0 2 1 Kaleb Ostrander...................... 3 0 2 0 Creighton Jones....................... 2 0 1 0 Cale Nuss................................. 4 1 1 0 Remington Behmerwohld...... 0 1 0 0 Michael Lockhart..................... 3 2 0 0 Juan Reyes............................... 3 0 0 0 Brody Borgmann..................... 3 0 0 0 Aydan Banta............................ 3 0 0 0 Sutton Totals-.................. 24 4 6 1 Hastings Totals-............... 27 9 4 4 Extra Base Hits: Sutton: Ostrander: 1-Double. Hastings: None.